If you visited the slum cluster in New Delhi’s Todapur some time ago, you would see a plot of land in the area filled with garbage, full of stench.

Not only were the lives of the slum dwellers miserable, one could see their children playing in the garbage as well. But now, through the efforts of the Delhi police, the dumping ground has completely transformed. Delhi police commissioner Amulya Patnaik initiated an integrated communal development programme as part of Swachh Bharat Mission to make the JJ clusters of the city liveable reports The Times of India.

Swachh Bharat is not a dream but a campaign. As part of communal policing, the slum cluster of Todapur in Inder Puri was taken up as a pilot project. Now, there has been a pleasant change in the living environment of slum dwellers,” he told TOI.

Special commissioner Sanjay Baniwal told the publication that they were analysing street crimes in the area when they noticed the behaviour of the adolescents who were prone to crime there.

Their miserable living conditions and lack of guidance were part of the problem. They not only removed the garbage from the area but also levelled the ground with soil.

The slum dwellers were also sensitised through cleanliness drives about hygiene, the problem with defecating in the open, littering etc. They also conducted plays and screened documentaries.

The Delhi Police has made sure no garbage enters the playground now, and have also hired a guard to keep a watch. To keep the ground clear, they’ve planned to organise inter-colony football tournaments every year, reports TOI.